Never Alone
by CoolBeansSir
Summary: As soon as the school year started, Kurt Hummel could tell that it was going to suck. Maybe this was due to his pessimistic view on life, or maybe it was due to the fact that he hadn't made it a couple of feet past the entrance to the school, when his face was violently attacked by a blast of flavoured slushed ice. Season 2 Canon.


As soon as the school year started, Kurt Hummel could tell that it was going to suck. Maybe this was due to his pessimistic view on life, or maybe it was due to the fact that he hadn't made it a couple of feet past the entrance to the school, when his face was violently attacked by a blast of flavoured slushed ice. Kurt is certain this has broken some kind of record for fastest slushie facial, especially since he is fairly sure that the cafeteria in which these evil drinks spawn from hasn't even opened yet. To make matters worse, he hadn't even had a chance to store spare clothes in his locker yet, so his first day uncomfortably sticky and wet, and smelling vaguely of cherries – and not in a nice way. He took this as a sign that this year was just going to be terrible. He brushed this thought to the side though, because unlike other years, Kurt came into this year that no matter what he had a group of people that he could just be himself around. Glee Club was his saving grace, even if it meant putting up with Rachel Berry.

It carried on like normal for a couple of weeks; the occasional dumpster tosses, enough slushiest to drown in, and locker checks that left his back looking like some abstract art project. Maybe he was being harassed a bit more than usual, but being the only out gay in school meant that Kurt sort of expected this treatment. Although a hulk of a kid who looked like he might have taken a bit too much steroids had made it his personal mission to make Kurt's life a living hell. Kurofsky always had had a problem with Kurt, but it seemed that ever since Kurt had stood up to him and told him to back off his friend, Kurofsky upped his game. That being said, Kurt liked to think that with all this going on, he put on a good facade of being absolutely fine. He was fine; he was so used to the abuse it just rolled off him now.

Chinks started showing in his mask after a few more weeks, the bullying kept escalating, and then Britney Spears issue started in Glee. Honestly Kurt wasn't one to lose his temper. Whenever he got mad, his response was snarky and cutting, he rarely resorted to shouting. He liked to keep his emotions in check , and okay, he cried a bit, but the alternative being collapsing in a broken down heap of bottled up emotions, Kurt decided he could spare a few stray tears. Mr. Schue refusing to do Britney Spears was seriously putting him more on edge than it should have, and the stress it caused him to make an impulsive visit to the day spa to ensure his skin would remain immaculate. If it wasn't for Kurt's impeccable personal hygiene, he would have just neglected his dental necessities so that he would have an excuse to sit in the hot dentists chair, get drugged up and hallucinate Britney Spears like the rest of Glee, just so he could get rid of this issue. But as it was, Kurt was tense, and Mr. Schuester obliviousness was not helping at all, so he snapped. In hindsight, he could have snapped with a bit more tact than he did, but if he's going to shout, he might as well insult his teacher whilst he's at it. While Kurt loves Spears, she really isn't worth getting sent to the Principal's office for.

After that little incident, Kurt refrained from talking, especially to superior figures. He realised that this school was actually starting to get to him, and he probably shouldn't make it worse by disrespecting those who like him. So he stayed quiet, which wasn't as hard as he thought it'd be really. Everyone had so many dramas in their little group, that just sitting back and watching was still fairly entertaining. If anyone noticed him regressing, they said nothing, which Kurt would say he was fine with, but truthfully it hurt. He had realised with alarm that he was letting all these solos go by him without a fight, but found himself lacking care. When there was a moment's peace, he would often start daydreaming about a future when he's out of this god awful town and making something of himself. Those were good daydreams, especially when they involved a super hot boyfriend.

French was easily his best and favourite subject. Never mind that most of the time he had to sit next to Kurofsky's best buddy; Azimio. The steroids all these meat heads seemed had obviously affected their brains, and they barely could string together a whole sentence in English, let alone French. So Kurt took great pleasure in insulting with his fluent French, and all they could do is stare dumbly at him. This was exactly what he was doing when he heard frantic footsteps reach the class room door. Mr. Schuester and Ms. Pillsbury stood there look flustered and breathless, and Kurt wanted to laugh that it looked like they had just fooled around in the janitors closet or something, but the grim expression in their eyes stopped him, and more so because they were actually looking at_ him._ As they took him out into the deserted hallway and informed that his father had collapsed at work and was now at the hospital, Kurt was fairly certain that his own heart had stopped and, _oh god,_ he's forgotten how to breathe. Firm hands are holding him and a distant voice telling him to 'just breathe' which Kurt believes is the best advice he's ever received from a teacher. It seems to do the trick though, and as soon as his vision isn't swimming and his heart remembers that it's meant to be beating, his shaking hand is fumbling around in his messenger bag looking for his car keys so he can get the hell out of here. Mr. Schue stops him though, says he'll drive, to which Kurt nods numbly but thinks that he should inform his teacher that if he doesn't drive like crazy and break every road law to get to the hospital as quickly as possible, Kurt cannot be held responsible for his actions. He doesn't say this though, because although his heart is working again, everything else really isn't and his voice is lost somewhere. It take's Ms. Pillsbury taking his elbow and gently leading him to the car park for his legs to even start working.

The car ride is impossibly long, though this isn't necessarily down to Mr. Schues driving or the fact that his car is falling apart. It's also deathly quiet, the two teachers in the front checking the rear-view mirror every few seconds just to make sure Kurt hasn't gone into full meltdown, Kurt thinks he's gone way past that point now. As soon as their by the hospital, he bolts from the car, not even waiting for it to stop. As soon as he enters the building, and the sterile smell has hit his nose, Kurt finds his voice. In an instance he's demanding information, probably cussing a lot as well, but he honestly doesn't care. It takes awhile before a nurse can actually find out who he is and who he's here for, so that she can give Kurt the information he wants. Frantic would be an understatement to describe Kurt at this point. The nurse leads him to a waiting area and tells him that his dad is still in surgery, but a doctor will talk to him as soon as it's over. She offers to call someone or get him something to drink, but the boy just waves her off. After she leaves, he considers sitting down, but finds that he can't actually stay still, so he paces. When his teachers finally catch up to him, they don't say anything; they just take a seat and watch over him. The guidance counsellor looks like she wants to go find some pamphlets for him to read, but Kurt is fairly certain he would get charged for assault if she started waving them in his face. Mr. Schuester seems to realise this as well, and keeps a steadying hand on her arm.

He's probably pacing for about an hour before his legs start to tremble and he realises he doesn't have the strength to pace anymore. He takes a seat slightly away from the two adults, not able to deal with any gentle touches or kind words they might have for him. It's about another two hours when a doctor appears around a corner, calling his dads name. Kurt genuinely feels like some kind of super hero when he's made it from sitting down the hallway to right up in the doctors face in record time. Before he can stop himself, he's blurted out 'is he dead?' and as soon as the words are out of his mouth, he realises that he really doesn't want to know, because the look the doctor has on at the moment is definitely not happy. He needs to escape right now. He can't deal with another dead parent. He's almost freaking out so much and determining an exit strategy, that he nearly misses the doctor telling him that 'no, he's alive' at which point his mind goes blank. He's mentally slapping himself because_ of course his dad is fine,_ his dad is amazing, he can't die. This time he does genuinely miss what the doctor is saying, and only captures the end of his medical mumbo jumbo monologue which he probably wouldn't have understood, even if he was paying attention. The doctor simplifies it for him: his dad is in a coma, no idea when or if he'll wake up. Kurt can feel another panic attack coming on, but he _really_ needs to see his dad before he has that. He can deal with a coma, that's fine. His dad has always had trouble waking up, never being an early bird like Kurt and his mum. Once Kurt see's his dad, he'll wake up, it'll be okay.

It definitely isn't okay though. As soon as Burt's pale face is in view, Kurt thinks maybe he should just bolt in the opposite direction, his dad is never that pale. And he doesn't have his hat on, that creeps him out the most. He always had the hat on, when he wakes up and finds no hat, his dad will freak out. The only calming thing to Kurt at this point is the steady beeping of the heart monitor. As he stands before the foot of the bed, he realises that there are people still in the room other than him and his dad. Essentially, he tells them to get lost, because he _cannot_ breakdown with an audience, and Kurt really needs to breakdown now. Reluctantly they leave, sparing concerned glances and a pat on the shoulder. Kurt barely notices. As soon as he is alone, he's grasping his father's hand and pleading him to wake up. He doesn't stop, until he loses all energy and falls unconscious beside him. He's only closed his eyes for a few minutes though, when Mr. Schuester comes backs in. Apparently Ms. Pillsbury has left already and visiting hours are coming to an end. Kurt barely registers that means he has to leave, till Will tells him so. His Glee teacher doesn't want to leave him alone though, wants to take him home, which even with all that's happening, Kurt knows he'll find it incredibly awkward, so Kurt just tells him that he'll contact a relative. Which is true, he will. He'll write an email to his Aunt Mildred that'll hopefully take a couple of days for her to sober up and read, because honestly she would be more hassle than help. Mr. Schue is hesitant, but accepts this anyway, but offers to drop Kurt home anyway.

As soon as they arrive, Kurt tells his teacher to leave, that he wants to sleep. He just wants to be alone. His house is dark and unwelcoming, so he turns on all the lights, but it's still missing that certain warmth that his dad emits. Kurt doesn't even attempt to sleep, knows that it would be impossible, but he doesn't want to sit around and do nothing, and because his thoughts would go to even darker places than they already are. So he half-heartedly attempts homework, knowing that this is the worst work he has ever created but not really caring. As soon as he's finished, he knows that he's still not exhausted enough to just pass out into a dreamless state. He sits for a while. The last thing his father said to him was that Kurt had disappointed him. He officially declares himself the worst son ever. Burt was the most loving and understanding father anyone could ever hope for, and Kurt had thrown it all in his face. He had to be better. When his dad woke up and got out of the hospital, his garage will have a massive backload of work. He could not allow that to happen. Not caring that he was still wearing his designer clothes, even though he knew he was about to get dirty and grimy, Kurt made for the door. It wasn't till he was outside that he remembered that he left his car at school, meaning that he would actually have to go to school tomorrow, regardless of whether he was up to it or not. The garage was only a few minutes away anyway, and although it was dark, nothing terrible really ever happened in this neighbourhood.

Even though his dad had hired a couple of people to help out around the shop, they were only there to deal with cars and occasionally customers. Luckily his father had taught him aspects of his job, and he was able to get through all the paper work and then move on to fixing up some cars. He was on his forth car, working underneath it, when he decided to rest his eyes from a moment. He woke up with a start, which unfortunately meant hitting his head on the car. Really, he was starting to think that it could not get worse, but small voice in the back of his head told him that it definitely can. Grumbling to himself, he rolled himself from under the car and checked the time. It was only a little past 6, meaning that he had enough time to go home, try and make himself look decent, before going to school. He left a note for the other workers before he left though, just stating that he would be looking after things until his father came back. He kept it cheery and upbeat, as to not give them reason to worry over whether they would have a job if anything were to happen. It helped Kurt stay in denial over the reality of things as well.

Kurt marvelled at his ability to look relatively like his normal fabulous self. His red eyes, black bags and the bruise on his head had all been covered up. His clothes were less coordinated than usual, but still looked just as good. His phone had run out of battery at some point during the night, which meant that he had to leave it at home to charge. It wasn't ideal but he had given Mr. Schuester number as the next person to contact if anything were to happen at the hospital, so that meant he definitely had to go to school today, even if he had no intention of actually learning anything. He got to school fairly quickly, and had made sure to check his car over to see if anyone had vandalised it over the night. Obviously someone had decided to give him a break, because it was still in mint condition. He decided to avoid people today. He was in no mood to talk and definitely in no mood to pretend he was fine. He was doing pretty well at it as well. It helped that today was the only day he didn't have any classes with the other Glee kids. Of course, when they had Glee later on, he would have to talk to them, but if he was lucky, they would all ignore him as usual and continue on with their dramas. Mr. Schue obviously did not get the memo about this though, because as soon as they all saw him, they were asking whether he was alright and how was his dad. He was tempted to walk back out the door he had just come through, but looking back now he saw the idiotic teacher who put him in this position blocking the way. Instead he ground out an _'I'm fine'_ and went to take a seat. This appeased no one apparently. His teacher gave him this look that asked him why he was even in school today. Kurt could give no answer. And everyone else sat close by giving him the disgusting pitying looks. He _really_ should have stayed home. But it was a great big 'DUDE!' that really turned his mood sour. So he might have felt a bit guilty, that in all his panic he admittedly forgot to call Carole and let her know that quite possibly her boyfriend was dying, but honestly it was his only parent so he would expect some understanding for it slipping his mind. Finn sat next to him though and attempted to comfort him, much to Kurt's chagrin. They were all acting like his dad was already dead. It made his chest hurt.

Over the next week, Kurt established a routine; wake up at 6, go to school, go to the hospital, get kicked out after visiting hours, go home and do homework or whatever and then work at the garage till he passes out. He may, during this routine, have forgotten to take care of himself with the necessities to stay alive. He was running on little sleep and barely any food. He found he couldn't quite stomach food very well at the moment. But he was eating and sleeping enough so that he could remain conscious during the day. He had to make sure that when he was sitting by his father's side, that he put himself in the most awkward position as to not fall asleep. This put him into a slight delirium, and he started visioning his mum standing over his dad. He freaked out considerably when it happened; his mum was dead and really should not be anywhere near his dad, like she meant to take him away. Needless to say, he downed a couple of espressos after that. Not trusting his sleep deprived state. When he had gotten home and found a bunch of bills in the mail, he had to figure out how to pay them. This only pushed him into working even harder; he even sold some of his better clothes so that there was enough money for him to live off. He realised that after his dad comes out, there would probably be a substantial medical bill, so he needed to put money aside for that. Unfortunately, his father being in hospital had made the whole of the Glee Club into some religious cult who were trying to force it down his throat. Even Finn was going on about some Grilled Cheesus. All Kurt could do was shove his atheism back at them. He didn't want God. Where was God when his mum died? Or when he was getting harassed? Where was God now? No, Kurt didn't need God, but it would be nice to have some friends to support him, but apparently all they wanted to do was sing about religion. The only slightly good thing about that week was that his bullies had decided to grow a heart and not torment him. This was just as well, because anymore stress and he would be having a heart attack like his father.

In the middle of the week after, he had finally had enough. If anyone mentioned religion to him again, he would go full bitch and hurt them. If his club wanted to sing about their feelings, then _fine,_ he would sing. And sing he did, he put himself out there and sung with every bit of emotion he was feeling. It worked as well; he was almost pleased to see that at the end of the last note, there were no dry eyes in the room, even Rachel. He might have stuck around to add some snarky comment but the emotions were getting too much for him and his tears were coming faster, so he legged it from the room, and the school, not stopping till he made it to his car. He wasn't entirely sure what he was going to do now, because his hands were shaking way too much to even consider driving. So he sat in the driver's seat, rested his head against the wheel and just sobbed unashamedly. He didn't notice the passenger door opening, but when he felt a hand soothing his back, he tensed.

"I'm sorry; I don't mean to force you to believe something you don't want to"

Kurt realised that it was actually Quinn. He wasn't expecting that one. After a few moments, his sobs and stilled to hiccups, he lifted his head and saw out the window that the rest of New Directions were standing, just looking at him. It was kind of creepy and absently wondered why they weren't in class. Quinn's hand was still rubbing patterns into his back. He wanted to ask why she was there instead of Mercedes or Finn, because he and Quinn had never been particularly close. He didn't say anything though, because her hand was comforting and he felt like she was mothering him in a way that wasn't suffocating. This was probably was because she _was _a mother, even though she's not a present one. Even though he had calmed down considerably, his hands were still shaking, though from what he couldn't tell anymore.

"Could you drive me to the hospital please?" _Oh god_, that was not his voice. He sounded so weak and pathetic. There was no way that he had just sounded like that; he wanted Diva Kurt to drag him out the car and slap him silly so he would stop acting like a lost puppy.

Obviously, Quinn was thinking the same thing as him, because she took pity and nodded before switching seats and exchanging some unspoken glance to the rest of Glee that made them return to whatever they had to do. Neither spoke, which Kurt was so grateful for and he decided that even though Quinn had been throwing God in his face for the past week, he sort of liked her. Or he liked how she nurtured him, not like how Carole did, with her snake grip hugs that left him breathless and made Kurt think they were more for her sake than his. Quinn offered comfort from a distance. It was nice.

He was still shaking though. That was kind of worrying. Maybe he had too much caffeine, or not enough and exhaustion was catching up to him. His stomach was cramping as well though, so it was with a sort of detached though he realised was starving. Like, genuinely starving to death. He shifted in his seat uncomfortably, but groaned and curled an arm around his stomach when the pain got worse. Quinn looked at him alarmed, which she really shouldn't do when she was driving, he didn't need something else to risk his life.

She stared at him for a moment, probably trying to gauge what was wrong, but it really didn't take long with his gaunt face his smaller than usual figure "When was the last time you ate?"

Good question. Very good question.

Kurt must have taken too long to ponder this question, because Quinn clucked disapprovingly before waiting at a traffic light to dig around in her purse and fish out a couple of granola bars.

"Eat"

Really, he didn't need to be told twice. His stomach was sort of in love with the girl at the moment. After he devoured the bars in record time though, his stomach was torn between wanting a whole lot more and not understanding what to do with the food. Maybe it really had been too long since he had eaten. The cramps had gone however, for now anyway, he would just have to remember to eat more. It would be no good if his dad woke up and Kurt was in a bed next to him. He'd probably have another heart attack, and then he would be even more disappointed in him. One look at Quinn, and he knew he was going to get a lecture. He sighed but he knew it was inevitable, he just hoped she waited till after he had seen his dad.

She did, and he decided that he would marry her as soon as pigs started flying and he became straight. When he saw that nothing had changed with his dad's condition, he slumped down into a chair and rubbed his forehead. The blonde girl stood silently by him for a moment, before kneeling down in front of him and could look into his eyes.

"Kurt..." Here we go.

He let her rant, although he was probably meant to answer some of her questions. _Why the hell aren't you looking after yourself? You look like a freaking skeleton. Isn't your aunt looking after you? Making you eat? You're worrying everybody._ She went on for a good 15 minutes, Kurt was quite impressed. She had stood up at some point, started using grand hand gestures to exaggerate her point. Now she stood slightly out of breath, waiting for something out of him. He considered lying to her, just to make her back off, but honestly he was too tired to come up with something that sounded plausible and his stomach was still in love with her, so he didn't want to lie.

"My aunt isn't with me"

"Who is?"

Quinn replied far too quickly for her to not have expected that answer. She already knows; the rest of Glee probably know and they were just waiting for him to come to them because he had been doing such a fine job of pushing them away.

"No one"

Well, he didn't think saying that out loud would upset him as much as it did, but as it was tears had started streaming down his face and he just broke. He told Quinn everything, what he had been doing since his dad had been hospitalised. She just listened, didn't move or make any noise. Once he had finished speaking, he dared to peek at Quinn, surprised to see tears rolling down her cheeks. He vaguely thought if his emotional collapse was contagious because it was slightly odd to have this popular girl crying for him. When their eyes connected, she rushed forward to collect him into a hug. She tried to ignore the fact that she could practically feel all his bones and she felt like she could break him like a twig. They sat holding onto for awhile, Quinn whispering sweet nothings into his ear and Kurt just hiccupping miserably. When they had both composed themselves slightly, she did not waste time to go into full blown mother mode. Giving him a few more moments with his father, she texted anyone who would be concerned a brief description of what happened, and then basically dragged Kurt out the hospital and drove him home. He adamantly refused to stay anywhere but his own home, but did not reject the idea of Quinn being there. As soon as they got through the door, Kurt went to check mail and phone messages only to have Quinn intercept him and usher him into his room so he could change into pyjamas. When he returned, looking slightly more fresh face, Quinn had soup prepared for him, her lack of culinary expertise limiting what meal she could make. He was only half way through eating when he realised he couldn't eat anymore. Hiding her disappointment, Quinn accepted this but made him take 2 pills and then guided him to bed. Kurt didn't even bother to ask what the pills were, if Quinn wanted to kill him then she would have let him starve. He did start putting up a fight when he realised he hadn't gone to the garage today, but Quinn was not letting up. She assured him that it would last a couple of days without him, and as soon as he was on the bed, he couldn't remember why he even wanted to.

_Ah, she gave me sleeping pills._

His eyes slid close slowly, not remembering when they had been allowed to relax this much. Quinn was softly singing to him whilst gently stroking his hair and massaging his hair. He really couldn't remember the last time someone had taken care of him like this. Just as the last bit of his consciousness was slipping away, he felt the need to let Quinn know something.

"You're an awesome mum"

If he had stayed awake a bit longer she would have seen the sad smile on her face.

When Kurt awoke and saw that it almost 9 he started freaking out because _he had a schedule goddamnit_, but then Finn and Rachel walked down the stairs to his bedroom and he decided he was actually just having a messed up dream, though the pinch test proved this to be a false assessment.

"Quinn had to leave, but we made you some breakfast!" Rachel had that smile on her face that looked like she was breaking he cheeks and made him want to pull a bag over her face.

"Yeah, and uh, don't worry dude, she made it so it's edible" And Finn just looked amusingly uncomfortable.

Kurt sat up straighter, and the two took this as an indicator to bring the food to him. Upon a closer inspection he could that they had just made him porridge, which he couldn't understand how Finn would be able to get wrong, but Kurt didn't comment. He wasn't particularly hungry and he was just about to refuse to eat, when he looked at their faces and realised they looked like they were about to cry, which Kurt couldn't deal with. Too much crying. His eyes felt like they wanted to fall out of their sockets. He took a couple of bites, before allowing his stomach to adjust to the fact that it was going to be able to have another meal.

"We're going to school after this" Okay, it sounded like he had been smoking for several years, but at least it didn't sound as weak as yesterday.

The couple looked at each other like they wanted to object, so just for effect Kurt added 'please.' He didn't think it would actually work as easily, he apparently looked pathetic enough for them to do whatever he wanted though and so they agreed. It might help that they were in most of his lessons for the rest of the day. He would have missed the first two lessons by the time he made it to school, but all he wanted was some normalcy, so he would take what he could get. He managed to eat more than he did last night, but he was still unable to finish. With food and a good amount of sleep, he was feeling marginally better.

School was the same as it had been for the past week, although now he was more tolerable and Glee had become far more supportive. He found himself always someone with him and never had a moment to himself, and he didn't mind. It was quite obvious that his friends had come up with a plan to make sure there was always someone to look after to him. He might have felt a bit guilty for taking all their attention, if it wasn't that their love and care felt so good. Mercedes came with him to see his dad, and thankfully didn't start praying in front of him. Finn and Carole came to pick them up, and he was surprised to find out that the entire club had decided to camp out at his tonight so he wouldn't be alone. He didn't object. Though he's sure he disappointed everyone when he could only manage to eat a small amount before falling asleep on the couch with Brittany curled up against him and his head resting on Quinn's shoulder. If he had been more awake, he would have been surprised to see Puck and Santana there. Despite thinking people would be upset that he couldn't even stay awake around them, they were all comforted by the fact that Kurt was safe and making his way back to healthy.

When he woke up, only Mercedes still remained, her unwavering stare unsettling him slightly as he attempted to actually finish he breakfast today. He almost did. His stomach had decided that his eating regime was too off-balancing, so rejected all of that morning's content. Luckily he had actually made it to the toilet before he messed up his kitchen.

"Boy, if you ever forget to take care for yourself again, I'm gonna kick your ass"

That's a nice thought. Kurt liked the way Mercedes cared about him; through bitchy comments.

He actually managed to go to school again, though he had to be more persistent this time. Truth was that he felt the longer he was with his best friend; the more likely she was to start talking about God. It was bound to happen sooner or later. As it turned out, he only had to wait till he had reached his locker. She managed to persuade him to go to church with him that Sunday. He gave in fairly quickly, just wanting to have his friend back. He realised with a startling thought, that life was actually getting easier for him, this support system his friends had made for him refused to let him waver under the immense pressure and stress of everything. But it wasn't _meant_ to get better, not until his dad woke up. He was meant to struggle without his daddy there. This train had significantly dampened his mood so much so, that everyone doubled their efforts to distract him and cheer him up. Brittany even drew a dolphin riding along a rainbow, its fin holding onto the hand of a man with a trucker hat and a plaid shirt. He loved Brittany.

Sunday came round rather quickly. He hadn't done any homework since Quinn had witnessed his breakdown and he had only managed to go to the garage twice. When he ate was decided by everyone else. He didn't have much control over his life at the moment, but he honestly didn't mind. He actually spent longer than he had in 2 weeks selecting his clothes, using going to church as an excuse to put on a crazy hat. Maybe church wouldn't be so bad. And it really wasn't. Everyone was so welcoming and friendly. Complete strangers offering him kind words and gentle touches. It was a nice experience, he will admit, but he was still very much an atheist. Him going there had been made easy by the people who he had met, not the thought that God may or may not be watching over him. He thanked Mercedes anyway, because although she had been an oblivious friend, she was still very much a good one.

It wasn't till just over 3 weeks after his dad had been admitted to hospital, that he told his dads unconscious form about this event. His friends had backed off slightly since. They would still stay close and someone would always sleepover and make him breakfast, but he wasn't be coddled unnecessarily. His eating had gotten slightly better, though he couldn't keep solids down and had to stick to soup most of the time. He'd also gone back to working at the garage every day, just not quite as hard and usually during school time so he skipped a couple of lessons sometimes. No one was overly bothered by this arrangement, seeing as when Kurt was actually at school he didn't really seem to be learning much anyway, and he had told everyone he'd much rather work that be learning. He never missed Glee though. For now, this arrangement was satisfactory. When at the hospital, Kurt rarely spoke to his father. Mostly he would hold his hand and demand he wake up. Never worked. Today he felt the need to let his dad know what he's missing. Maybe if he told him, he would feel bad and wake up. So like he did with Quinn a week ago, he went through everything. Never missing out a detail. Not even noticing that he had started crying, but he had been doing that so often that it almost seemed like second nature lately. As soon as he had finished his lengthy monologue, he watched his dads face to see any reaction. Nothing.

He sighed and was about to bring the hand holding his father's up to his face, but a squeezing pressure refused to let it go. It took a moment for Kurt's mind to catch up, and to realise what this meant.

"Dad?"

His response was more pressure. He quickly pressed the call button, whilst hurriedly whispering to his dad that he was here, and that he wasn't leaving. And as Burt's eyes started to flutter open, his voice went up a pitch and his words came out faster till he was sure he wasn't making sense anymore. He barely noticed that a couple of nurses were crowding around him, checking vitals and just generally being medical whizzes. Nothing else mattered as soon as he saw his dad's eyes for the first time in almost a month. He found himself just saying dad over and over again like it was some sort of mantra.

Burt's eyes seems to focus and the settled on Kurt, taking in the tears rolling down his face, he lifted a hand to wipe them, and although he managed he noted that it took more effort than it should have.

"It's okay, son" His sounded odd, and his voice was rough. Apparently he said the wrong thing because Kurt started crying even harder, though after a moment Burt noticed he was also smiling. Burt was very confused.

Some nurses were throwing some medical jargon at him, and he realised he was going back to sleep. He managed to give the boy an encouraging smile and squeeze before going back to the darkness.

Kurt very nearly had a panic attack when his dad went back to sleep, a nurse assured him though, that he would definitely wake up again soon, he just needed some rest before he would be up for a full conversation. Kurt accepted this, and let out breath of relief. His dad was awake. He felt so light all of a sudden, like he could fly away. He's awake, he's awake, he's awake. Each time he said the word in his head, he felt better. He needed to share this joy, he had calls to make. He left the room, so not to disturb his dad, even though he was probably on some powerful drugs that wouldn't wake him even there was an elephant stampede. He actually remembered this time, that his dad had a girlfriend who had been there almost as much as he had.

The phone only rang twice before a panicked Carole picked up the phone. Kurt had never rung her, he realises why it might be a bit distressing that he would now, that being said, he couldn't help but laugh at her distress.

"He woke up" was all he really needed to say. Carole let out this choked sort of noise that Kurt's sure he had made earlier.

He went into more detail and told her everything that had happened, and she promised that she was going to get Finn and be there as soon as possible. He hung up and debated who he should call next. Finn would find out pretty soon anyway, so he decided just to send a text to everyone; even Mr. Schuester to let them know. He hadn't even had a chance to put his phone away and go back into the room before his phone lit up with dozens of texts, he smiled at it, happy to know people cared, but put it away so that he could wait for his dad to wake up again.

Carole and Finn had walked into the room when Burt was starting to wake again. Deciding that he had stolen his dad's attention when he first woke up, it would only be fair that the woman he loved be the second person he saw. He stood back with Finn, who put a casual arm around his shoulder that last year would have made his heart flutter pleasantly. As it was now, both of their attention was on Burt, as he grumbled and slowly woke up. Carole was having a hushed almost one-sided conversation with him, that sounded almost like it should be private but nobody honestly cared. As each minute passed, Burt grew more and more coherent, he was told about what had happened and how long he had been out, which he took surprisingly better than he thought, although Kurt detected a slight hint of hidden distress. Burt eventually looked past Carole to see Finn, both of their smiles widened and Finn moved forward to wrap his only father figure in a hug.

"I think you've grown even more" Kurt decided then and there, he would never get tired of listening to his dad's voice.

His dads gaze wandered again until it settled on him. Kurt offered a small smile that reflected nothing of what he was feeling.

"C'mere"

Don't have to tell him twice. Kurt practically flung himself over his dad, in probably a not-so-gentle hug. He didn't care. He had missed his dad _too _much.

"You're too skinny"

Kurt let out a choked sob. _Seriously?_ His dad was in a hospital bed and he's commenting on his health. If he wasn't so overcome with emotion he might have responded, but it was too nice just holding onto him and hearing the ba-dum of his heartbeat instead of that incessant beeping of the heart monitor.

The hospital discharged Burt a week later, as soon as they would let him. Burt and Kurt hated hospitals with a passion after Kurt's mum had died. In that time, Burt had learnt all about what had happened during his long sleep, specifically how his son had neglected himself. So when he had spoken to his doctor about the new diet regime he had to live by, he also asked about his son who was apparently still having trouble eating, although it had admittedly gotten a lot better since Burt had woken up. Like always the father and son had each other's back. They had a long conversation between the difference between independent and being stupidly stubborn, and Burt let Kurt know he had stepped over that line and then some. He was still proud of what he had accomplished though, but threatened that next time he ever did something like that he would not be as calm.

"Shouldn't go around having heart attacks then" was Kurt's snarky reply, there was a smile on his lips though. There was always a smile on his lips at the moment. With all the crying he had been doing, it was a welcome change.

Nothing was going to change his good mood at the moment, he had friends and he had his dad. He really couldn't ask for more. Maybe his sucky year was over, he had a good feeling. Although going to McKinley, you can never really tell what's around the corner.

* * *

**Oh my god. I've never written anything as long as this K i would have love to turn this into multiple chapters, but im starting work soon and i know i wont have the time, so one shot instead J i might come back at a later date and write the karofsky saga but we'll see.**

**I only started watching glee 2 weeks ago and ive watched every episode. Im so obsessed. And i love chris colfer. I would become a gay dude for him, seriously.**

**Anyway, enjoy!**


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